According to the terms of the 1992-94 collective bargaining
between Green Bay School District (hereafter District) and
Green Bay Board of Education Employees Clerical Union, Local 3055B,
AFSCME, AFL-CIO (hereafter Union) the parties requested that the
Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission appoint a member of its
staff to act as impartial arbitrator of a dispute between them
involving whether part-time school building clerical employe Karen
Klapper should have been released early on the day before
Thanksgiving, November 24, 1993, under Article 14 of the labor
agreement. The Commission appointed Sharon A. Gallagher as
arbitrator and hearing was held in Green Bay, Wisconsin on
March 15, 1994. A stenographic transcript of the proceedings was
made and received by March 29, 1994. The parties filed
post-hearing briefs by May 2, 1994, which were exchanged by the
undersigned. The record was thereupon closed as the parties waived
their right to file reply briefs at the hearing.

Issues:

The parties stipulated that the following issues should be
determined in this Award:

Did the Employer violate the contract when it told Karen
Klapper that she could not leave work one-half hour early on the
day before Thanksgiving, November 24, 1993?

If so, what is the appropriate remedy?

Relevant Contract Provisions:

ARTICLE XIV

HOURS OF WORK - SCHOOL
CLOSING

. . .

All clerical employees assigned to the schools during the
hours after the student school day will be dismissed at the close
of the student school day on the last workday preceding
Thanksgiving, Christmas and Good Friday.

All clerical employees assigned to the Administrative Offices
will be dismissed one-half hour earlier than the end of their
normal workday on the last workday preceding Thanksgiving,
Christmas and Good Friday.

. . .

Facts:

Karen Klapper, the Grievant, has been employed for the past
year and one-half as a part-time Attendance Secretary working 5.5
hours per day at Lombardi School. The school day at Lombardi is
from 7:30 a.m. to 2:34 p.m. and Klapper regularly works from
7:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Klapper is the only part-time clerical
employed at Lombardi School. The other five Secretaries employed
at Lombardi are full-time.

Prior to her assignment at Lombardi School, Klapper was
employed by the District at Southwest School, at Broadway Central
Office (BCO) and at West High School. While Klapper was employed
at BCO (from approximately 1983 to 1991) she was allowed to leave
early on the days before the three holidays listed in Article 14.
When Klapper transferred to her current job at Lombardi School (in
the 1992-93 school year), she stated that she forgot about the
early release provision and did not request to use it in her first
year at Lombardi.

In November 1993, probably one week before Thanksgiving,
Klapper read Article 14 of the contract and called Union officer
DeRubis who said she was entitled to early release on the day
before Thanksgiving. Then Klapper called the District's personnel
office to ask if she would get released one-half hour early on the
day before Thanksgiving that year. Personnel checked into it and
later told Klapper she was not entitled to early release. Klapper
then authorized filing the instant grievance because she felt that,
in fairness, all part-time employes should receive the same early
release benefit given to those employes working at BCO.

The Union offered evidence which it urged proved that a past
practice exists whereby the District has allowed part-time
secretaries to use the pre-holiday release time provision of
Article 14. That evidence is as follows. Judy Sargent, currently
a secretary at Langlade School, stated that in approximately 1986
when she worked as a full-time secretary at Sullivan School with
another part-time secretary, the principal of the School at that
time, Keith Schneider, (1) informed her and the
part-time secretary
that on that day (the day before Thanksgiving) they could leave
early. Schneider told Sargent, whose hours of work were then
8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. with one hour for lunch, that she could
leave one hour early. Schneider also told the part-time secretary,
whose hours of work were 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with one-half hour
for lunch, that she could leave one hour early.

Sargent stated that as a full-time secretary she always
received pre-holiday release time while at Sullivan School.
Sargent admitted however that 1986 was the only year in which
Sargent was sure that the part-time secretary was given pre-holiday
early release time. Sargent stated that at this time the school
day at Sullivan School was from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Sargent
also stated that Schneider made no reference to the labor agreement
during the above-described conversation; that Sullivan Principal
Schneider served in that capacity for only one year (1986); that he
then became ill and that there were approximately eight other
principals in charge during her six years at Sullivan School.

The Union also offered evidence regarding bargaining history.
Union official Sharon Ducet testified that she had been on the
Union's bargaining team after school employes began receiving
pre-holiday early release time under the relevant portion of
Article 14. Ducet stated that she was not sure if she was on the
bargaining team when the contract language regarding school
employes was placed in the agreement (1986 or 87), but that she was
on the Union's team when the Union proposed and negotiated
pre-holiday early release time into Article 14 for BCO employes.
Ducet stated that the Union made the proposal so that all BCO
employes would receive one-half hour of release time despite BCO
employes' staggered work hours (different starting and quitting
times for various employes). (2) Ducet stated
that she could not
recall any specific discussions during bargaining regarding what
had been done in the schools with pre-holiday early release time.
Ducet stated that she believed that the language of Article 14
granting BCO employes pre-holiday early release time was proposed
so that all employes would receive the same pre-holiday early
release time. However, the Union proffered no bargaining notes and
Ducet did not recount any specific discussions in support of her
beliefs.

Positions of the Parties:

Union:

The Union argued that the central issue in this case is
whether part-time school building employes should be permitted to
leave work early prior to school year holidays on the same basis as
part-time BCO employes and full-time school building employes. The
Union asserted that the relevant portion of Article XIV must be
read in conjunction with evidence of past practice it proffered
which showed that part-time school building employes have been
allowed one-half hour early release time. In addition, the Union
urged that the evidence it offered of the Union's negotiations
intent relating to Article XIV BCO employes' benefits -- to have
all employes treated the same -- supported its contentions.

The Union contended that even if the language of Article XIV
is found to be clear and unambiguous on its face, that the language
"is subject to being modified by the existence of contrary
practice." The Union observed that the monetary value of this
grievance is small, but the principle -- whether all employes will
be treated equally -- is large. The Union sought an Award
sustaining the grievance.

District:

The District urged that the School Closing language of
Article XIV contains a clear and unambiguous statement which shows
that Grievant Klapper was not entitled to leave work one-half hour
before her 12:30 p.m. normal quitting time at Lombardi on the day
before Thanksgiving, November 24, 1993. In this regard, the
District noted that Article XIV only allows School employes like
Klapper who work "during the hours after the student school day" to
be released at the end of the student school day on the day before
the listed holidays. Thus Klapper, who leaves work two hours and
four minutes before the end of the student school day (2:34 p.m.)
should have received no early release time under the clear terms of
Article XIV. In addition, the District argued, Klapper, who is
employed at Lombardi, was not entitled to the one-half hour early
release time because she is not employed at BCE under the clear
language of Article XIV.

The District asserted that even if such evidence were
relevant, the Union failed to present sufficient evidence to
demonstrate that a past practice existed allowing early release for
part-time school building employes whose hours of work normally end
before the end of the student school day. On this point, the
District noted that one Union witness testified to one instance
with one principal in just one school year where such a part-time
clerical employe was given early release time.

The District therefore urged the Arbitrator to enforce the
clear language of Article XIV and to deny the grievance in its
entirety.

Discussion:

Article XIV on its face states that all school building
clericals will be released at the end of the school day if they are
assigned to work "during the hours after the school day" on the
last workday preceding Thanksgiving, Christmas and Good Friday. I
can find no ambiguity in this language. It is precise and clear.

It is axiomatic in grievance arbitration cases that where
contract language is clear and unambiguous, evidence of bargaining
history and past practice is inadmissible if it is offered to alter
or vary the clear language of the agreement. Thus, the evidence
offered by Ms. Sargent and Ms. Ducet may not be considered in
reaching an Award herein. (3) On this point,
because the contract
language regarding school building clericals is clear, whether one
principal at Sullivan School released one part-time secretary prior
to the three listed holidays in one year, and whether in
negotiating regarding early release time for BCO employes, the
Union's goal was to achieve equality of benefits among BCO and
school building clericals is entirely irrelevant to this case.

I note that grievant Klapper stated that she works 5.5 hours
per day at Lombardi School (7:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) and that the
school day at Lombardi is from 7:30 a.m. to 2:34 p.m. The language
of Article XIV applicable to Klapper clearly provides, therefore,
that she must work her entire work day prior to the three listed
holidays because she is not assigned to work "during the hours
after the student school day." It is significant that there is no
reference in this language either to BCO employes or to one-half
hour early release time. Rather, the references to BCO employes
and to a one-half hour early release time are stated in a separate
paragraph of Article XIV, clearly applicable only to BCO employes.

In these circumstances and based upon the relevant evidence
and argument herein, I issue the following

AWARD

The Employer did not violate the contract when it told Karen
Klapper that she could not leave work one-half hour early on the
day before Thanksgiving, November 24, 1993.

2. Ducet indicated that before the Union negotiated
this benefit
for BCO employes, Administrative employes had worked at the
City Hall Building where hours of operation were essentially set by the City and early release
was not possible. After 1986,
the District moved its administrative employes to BCO and the hours
of work/operation were thereafter controlled by the District.

3. I note in this regard that the Employer objected to
the
receipt of this evidence at the hearing. Although I took the
evidence over the District's objection, I have not considered
it in reaching this Award due to the principles of contract
construction I have described above.